 Now we present Herbert Marshall as the man called X. The Saturday Night Feature on NBC's five-show festival of comedy, music, mystery, and drama brought to you by Chester Field, the cigarette that has for you what every smoker wants. Mildness plus no unpleasant aftertaste. The cigarette that brings you Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. By the makers of Anderson for fast relief from pain of headache, neuritis, neuralgia. And by RCA Victor, world leader in radio, first in recorded music, first in television. Herbert Marshall as the man called X. Wherever there is mystery, intrigue, romance in all the strange and dangerous places of the world, there you will find the man called X. Listen to this. Now here's Chester Field's answer to Serino de Bergerac. Bob Hope. I'd top easy, Dad, but we only have a minute here to sell Chester Field. Better tasting Chester Field is the only cigarette that combines for you mildness with no unpleasant aftertaste. Mildness is a cinch to prove. You just make the Chester Field mildness test. You know, open a pack and enjoy that milder aroma, then smoke them, and you'll know that Chester Field's a milder. And Chester Field leaves no unpleasant aftertaste. That fact has been confirmed by the country's first and only cigarette taste panel. So make our cigarette your cigarette. The reasons go together like this. Chester Field, Chester Field always takes first place. That milder mild tobacco never leaves an aftertaste. Oh-ho, open a pack and give them a smell, then you'll smoke them. Under the flat silver glare of the full moon, the California desert is a lonely, burned-out wasteland without a sign of human habitation. But in a dense clump of mesquite and chaperow, two men crouch silent and hidden, watching as a two-engine transport plane lands in the midst of this other desolation. Hear them, Thurston? They're Mexican nationals, all right? Okay, Keeley. Give the signal. Let's get out there. Okay. Still, and nobody'll get hurt. You're surrounded by men of the United States Immigration Service. So just stay where you are and we'll be... Look out, Keeley. The pilot's getting away. I think I'll stay out west for a little while. Did you ever hear of Fedor Colander? One of the passengers aboard that plane. That's right. He's the fourth big-time alien agent we've picked up in the past 60 days. Illegal entry, all of them. How many more have gotten in without it being spotted? We don't know. But I have a hunch we're being flooded with them. Now, Colander's in the hospital at Blythe with a bullet in his shoulder. He's in no condition to talk even if he wanted to. But he had a telegram in his pocket that made it was a lead. Well, what'd it say? It confirmed a reservation he'd made for a vacation. Vacation? Where? At the Flying Mustang, a dude ranch, in Helena, Montana. Pretty stranger. About a hundred miles from here is the Crow Flies. But it'll take two days' easy bakar. Ten bapak nul. What about flying him? Well, he may be got a point there, stranger, if he ain't afraid of them mountains, that is. Pretty dang high of them mountains. I heard of fellas who were once... The plane ready yet, Zeke? Oh, howdy, Miss Doris. Yep. Gassed up, checked out, and all ready to ski daddle. Thanks, Zeke. Oh, say, before you go, Miss Doris, a fella here been asking about the Flying Mustang. Seems he's trying to figure out how to get out there. A man Zeke's talking about, mister? Maybe. What's your interest in getting to the Flying Mustang? Well, that comes out of hitting a private business, doesn't it? It's my business, too, mister. Oh, why? Why? Why? Because she's Doris Crandall's stranger. She owns the outfit. That's why. And I'm asking, mister, what's your interest in getting out there? You're not very cordial to your guests, are you, Miss Crandall? Who are you? My name's Ken Thurston. We're full up, Mr. Thurston. Better wire for reservation the next time. Maybe some time next fall. Would Fedor Kalender have to wait that long? What's Kalender got to do with this? His vacation plans have been interrupted, and I thought I might be able to take his reservation. Zeke? Yep, Miss Doris. Tell the boys at traffic control that I'm changing my flight papers. I'll be carrying a passenger. A landing strip. Looks like you handle a lot of traffic here at the Flying Mustang. Running a cattle outfit, even a dude ranch has big business these days. And in big business, the airplanes replace the horse. Or haven't you heard? Not being a ranch hot to take your word for that. My handyman's riding up. He'll take you to your bunkhouse. When you get your gear stowed away, come up to the ranch house and meet the other guests. See you later. Yes, see you later, Miss Crandall. What a pussy! That's right, Mr. Axe. Ah, long time no see. What the devil are you doing here? I thought you were in Mexico City. Oh, I was. I was. But this senior rocus flew me up here and got me this job with that luscious Doris Crandall. Who's senior rocus? A big, hot shot cattleman from Argentina. He's the guy I heard talk about smuggling in the Mexicans when I called you and the chief about it. Believe me, Mr. Axe, I'm plenty glad you showed up. There's something screwy going on this ranch place. Like what, Pudsy? Yeah, like what, Pudsy? Oh, it's you, Mr. Sanders. You were saying there's something screwy about the flying Mustang, Pudsy. Like what? I didn't mean exactly screwy. Exactly. Oh, Mr. Thurston, this is Mr. Bert Sanders. He's the big shot in charge around here. That means I'm forming of the spread, Thurston. In any information you want about the outfit, you can get from me. Not from any cookhouse waddy who's been pasturing on local weed. What's the matter, Sanders? Is the flying Mustang got something to hide? Look, mister, maybe you're here for a vacation. Maybe you're mixed up with some of that business going on at the ranch house. But whatever it is, let's get one thing straight. As long as I'm forming here, I'm running the things the way I see them. That goes for you and all the rest of the... Oh, Mr. Thurston. Stop worrying, Thurston. Just a couple of the boys leveling their sights on some coyotes. For a cattle man, Sanders, you've got a bad sense of direction, unless your boys are shooting coyotes in the ranch house. Martini, perhaps it will make restitution for the way Madeleine and I started you. Oh, well, I... After all, Mr. Thurston, we must have a drink to our newly formed acquaintanceship. Sure, Miss Trent, a Martini, it'll be. Bueno, bueno. You send you to Sanders? I don't drink during work, you know, as Mr. Rookus. That's your wish. And I still think there's something mighty funny about those shots. I thought we had explained it, Mr. Sanders. Julio was boasting of his ability with the revolver. I asked him to prove it, he did, by firing at a target out the window. If you have any other comments, I suggest you make them to Miss Crandall. Your horse is saddled and ready, Miss Trent. I'll be at the corral any time you want to take that ride. Thank you, Mr. Sanders. You're very sweet. But you needn't wait for me. I'm going to try to persuade Mr. Thurston to ride with me instead. Well, Mr. Thurston, will you accept my invitation? Be glad to, Miss Trent. Oh, good. I'll be changed and ready in 15 minutes. Right. Yeah, she's a wonderful woman, Madeleine. Wonderful. Too rich, too bored, too willful, but wonderful. Another drink? Not just now, thanks, no. Tell me, Senor Lucas, where are the other guests? Other guests? But there are none, my dear friend. We three have the flying Mustang to ourselves. Well? You are surprised at this? A little. Just as you were surprised to find your friend Puzzi at the ranch? Ah. See, I find him a most amusing person and most informative. Tell me, did you manage to capture those Mexican nationals who attempted to cross the border? We did, yes. Ah, bueno, bueno. You're happy about it? Oh, but of course. Was it not I who learned of the plot in Mexico City and told Puzzi of it? And now you and I meet here at the Rancho in Montana. Strange coincidence, eh, Senor? Is there? You know, Thurston, I am most intrigued with this idea of smuggling people over the border. Perhaps you would care to exchange information with me later at your bunkhouse. I'll be there. Bueno, Bueno. I would not miss this opportunity for anything, Senor X. Tired, Madeline? Oh, no, Ken. I could ride like that for hours. But we're nearly back at the ranch house. My main purpose in coming out here was to talk. What about? A friend of yours, Fedor Colenda. What do you know about Colenda? Oh, I met him once, casually, before the war at an embassy ball in Budapest. What makes you think he's a friend of mine? Well, Doris Crandall told me you'd assumed his reservation. Frankly, I was a little surprised to learn he was in the country. I thought he was in disfavor with the government. Tell me a couple of things, Madeline. Of course, Ken. You and Rokas were the only guests at the ranch when I arrived, but at first Miss Crandall said there wasn't room for anyone else. Any idea why? No. Except that Doris is a rather peculiar girl. Any other questions? Yeah, that shooting episode in the ranch house, what really happened there? You didn't believe my story to Sanders? I might have. If Rokas didn't have powder burns on the shoulder of his jacket. Powder burns? Rokas wasn't shooting anything, he was the target. Oh, if you knew Julio better, you'd realize how ridiculous that statement is. By darling, he hasn't an enemy in the world. Mr. Zersen, you... Oh boy, oh boy, am I glad I found you. You've got to do something, Mr. Zersen. You've got to do something. What's wrong? Somebody's been shooting at coyotes again. That's what's wrong. What? And they got him too. Right in your bunk house. Send your Rokas. Julio? What's happened to him? He's murdered, killed, even dead maybe. Oh, blood all over. We will continue with the man called X in just a moment. When we ask you to try Anacin for the relief of pain due to a headache, neuritis, or neuralgia, we're not asking you to try a new or unproved method. For there are many people listening in now who have been introduced to Anacin tablets by their own dentist or physician. You who have received Anacin this way know the effective, incredibly fast relief these tablets bring. Anacin is like a doctor's prescription. That is, Anacin contains not just one, but a combination of medically proven, active ingredients in easy to take tablet form. People by the thousands are using modern Anacin today instead of other ways. Doesn't their experience seem worth following? Try Anacin the next time you suffer pains from headache, neuritis, or neuralgia. You will be delighted with the results. Ask your druggist for Anacin today. Anacin is spelled A-N-A-C-I-N. Two of the man called X starring Herbert Marshall. Attempting to track down a well-organized effort to smuggle alien agents into the country, Ken Thurston finds himself at the flying mustang, a dude ranch near Helena, Montana. Right now, Ken, the beautiful Madeleine Trent and Putsi are entering the bunkhouse, where Putsi claims to have found the murdered body of Julio Rogus. You see what I mean, Mr. Thurston? Yeah. What was it, Ken? Whoever shot it in this time didn't miss. Who else knows about this, Putsi? Oh, nobody. Where's Sanders? He said he was going hunting for snipes or something. And dolly's kindle. Oh, the last I seen of her, she was going into the airplane garage. The hangers? What would Dorothy be doing there at this time? Ken. Yeah. There's your answer, Madeleine. Looks like dolly's taking a little trip. Is it, Chief? Will you get the reports back to me as fast as you can? Right. Did he find out anything? Can you hear me? Chief! What's the matter, Mr. Thurston? I think somebody just cut the phone wire, Putsi. Oh, that's all it... Huh? Cut the phone wire? That's right. Hey, I don't get it, Mr. X. Well, what's going on this range of place? Anyways, cutting phone wires, murdering people, why would anybody want to bump out that Rokas character anyway? The usual reason, he knew too much. Knew too much about what? Smuggling aliens into the country. Huh? I have an idea. He was going to tell me about it when I got back from that ride. Somebody else must have thought so, too. Hey, what if that somebody thinks I know something? It's a possibility. Well, don't just stand there. Call the police. Call the... Well, Mr. X, the telephone wires, we can't call nobody. That's right, Putsi. Oh, I was looking for you, yes, but... Well, I didn't expect to find you sitting in a plane. What are you doing up there? Oh, you might call it a test flight. Test flight in a closed hangar? You'll be surprised how much you can learn about a plane just doodling around. The fuel tanks are full, and there's a flight map and the pilots can pop it. Know anybody in Victoria, British Columbia? Victoria? That's the flight destination marked off on the map. Oh, Kenneth is a long way to go to report a murder to the police, isn't it? Yeah, but not too far to pick up guests for a dude ranch in Montana. Either I'm very obtuse, darling, or you're being deliberately frost- Ken! Watch it, Madeline. Stay right there. Can you see him, Ken? No, he's gone. Do you think it was Sanders? Could be. Carrying a grudge against us for taking a ride together? A better guess is that he didn't want us to talk to Doris Crandall. Doris? Yeah, she's back. Coming in for a landing now. The passenger with her, Ken. She must have gone to Helena to pick him up. Recognize him? Should I? You met him once before the war at an embassy ball in Budapest. Ken! Yeah. He's our old friend. Fedor Colendo. I don't get it, Mr. X. What's that no-good spy Colendo doing here anyways? I think he's come to meet some old friends, Putsy. Huh? Listen. The minute it's dark, take one of the ranch cars. Head down the road to Helena. Uh-huh. Call the telephone you come to. Put in a call for the chief and tell him Colendo's here. He'll know what it's about. Well, Miss Crandall, welcome home. Thanks. Any particular reason for being in my bunkhouse? You wouldn't come out on the landing strip to meet me's who I came here. They're thoughtful of you. Why the, uh, 45? I was also thoughtful enough to ask your friend, Colendo, about you. Did he give me a good reference? Maybe you'd like to answer that, Colendo. We are always glad to oblige an old friend. Aren't we, Mr. X? Myself mixed up in these things I don't know. Shootings, killings, spies. Ah, I should have took my Uncle Ahmed's advice and married that rich day in Vienna. So what if she did have to shave once a day? With a million bucks, I could afford a barber. Now I got to sneak out of here in the dark, maybe get shot at a couple of times, and all because I was... Hello, footsie. Huh? Going somewhere? Oh, it's only you, Miss Trent. Nice night out, huh? I asked you if you were going somewhere. Oh, yes, yes, sure. To get help before we all get bumped off out here. Maybe... Hey, what are you doing with that garden? Nothing. If you change your mind and head for the airplane hangar, otherwise you might join Senor Rokas. I'd join Senor Rokas, but he's dead. He... Oh, my. Ropes, footsie. Luck. These things got me tied tighter than a bomb. Uh... What gives, Mr. X? What gives? Why we're all tied up in this airplane hangar? Why? Who's after us and for what? Mugging enemy agents into the country is a profitable business these days. What's that got to do with that Madeleine pulling a gun on me? Just protecting her vested interest, footsie. Huh? She's the boss of the outfit. Oh, that's different. For a minute, I thought you said they're boss of the outfit. That's why she had Sanders kill her boyfriend, Rokas. He'd tipped us off once and was gonna do it again. When she tried getting himself earlier, it didn't quite come off. But... But he said it was a target practice or something. A cover-up for her. When you love someone badly enough. Oh. But what about little Doris Crandall? How does she figure in all this? Would you like me to take over on that one, Ken? Mr. X. Hello, Madeleine. You see, darling, Doris is a nice girl, although rather stupid. When the blizzards of two years ago nearly wiped her out, she was very grateful when I financed her. So you told her I was the one who killed Rokas. How long do you think you can keep fooling on, Madeleine? Oh, just long enough for my next plane to arrive from Canada. It's due any minute. Carrying one of the most valuable cargoes I've ever handled. I see. Then Doris will try to fly you and Putsy back to Helena in that plane. But unfortunately, it's going to crash. For a crash? Sanders tells me it can be done quite easily. He'll take the plane up with the three of you aboard, set the automatic pilot, and bail out. Oh, but we could get killed that way. Even hurt, maybe. That plan from Canada is coming in now, Madeleine. And Sanders has Doris outside. What about these two? Cut their ropes, Fedor, and take them out to the runway. As soon as the others disembark, see that they climb aboard. I'll hold a gun on them while you tie them up again. Very well, Madeleine. So you thought you could stop us from entering your country first? What fools you are. You know, someday you will learn that nothing, nothing can prevent us from obtaining our objectives. Yeah. So, stand over there. Thank you, Sean. Anything to say? Now, for you, Putsy. Hurry, Fedor. The plane is landed. All right, Madeleine. All right. There. On your feet, Putsy. Okay, okay. I'm on my feet. Here, Fedor. Take the gun and get them out there quickly. Huh? You see them, Thurston? Ten of the finest espionages in the world. Gouverchev, Madison, Faran, Stryker. It may take them time, but when they're through, there will not be a military secret left in this country. Fedor, there's something wrong there. Those men. They're not the ones we were bringing in. That's right, Madeleine. Our chief better take them. Chief? All right, all of you. Stand where you are. You're under arrest. Arrest? No! Shoot them, Fedor! Shoot! Don't bother trying. Fedor! Sanders, he's trying to run away. What do you know? He didn't make it. Round them up, man. Watch out for snipers. How about it, Ken? You okay? Yeah, yeah. Thanks, Chief. What about the pain from Canada? We waited until it got across the border, and a couple of army jets forced it to land. You had your information down fat. Good. Oh, Chief, this is Madeleine Trent. He's operating the outfit. Yes, but apparently not quite smartly enough. How did you get that information out? Those planes and the hangers have short-wave radios, Madeleine. Radios? I had forgotten. You forgot something else, too. Something that every American's cool kid knows and believes in. They say it every day. It might be a good idea if all of us said it every day. And meant it. It goes. I pledge allegiance to the flag. Our star, Herbert Marshall, will return in just a moment. Here's a word from RCA Victor. You know when spring puts in its appearance, the ladies always seem to catch the men off guard. They've been busy for weeks planning their spring wardrobe, studying the new styles. And this year, there's one style everyone will want to study. It's the better-looking and every-way style of RCA Victor's magnificent new 17-inch television receiver, the Fairfield. With the Fairfield, you'll get television pictures which are exceptionally clear, bright and steady. And you'll have RCA Victor's new picture pickup, which assures you of the best possible reception. If you've been looking for a television set that's going to look well in your home, here's your answer. The Fairfield's console cabinet is truly distinctive, and its beautiful doors close over the screen when your set's not in use. Go see your RCA Victor dealer. He'll be glad to show you the better-looking Fairfield. Here is our star, Mr. Herbert Marshall. Thanks for being with us. I think you ought to know that those in tonight's cast were Gene Tatum, Lucille Meredith, Will Wright, Sidney Miller, Bill Johnstone, Billy Hallop, and Lou Merrill. Next week, Mr. X tracks down an old friend of his who is tied up with one of the most nefarious crimes in history. Of course, when you use a word like nefarious, you also have to mention Leon Bolesko, who'll be along as Pagon Zelchman. So join us once you are next, I return, as the man called X. Good night. The Man Called X is a Saturday night feature on NBC's five-show festival of comedy, music, mystery, and drama. Brought to you by the makers of Anison for fast relief from pain of headache, neuritis, neuralgia, and by RCA Victor, world leader in radio, and in recorded music, first in television. The Man Called X, starring Herbert Marshall, is produced by J. Richard Kennedy with music composed and conducted by Felix Mills. Tonight's story was written by Sidney Marshall. All characters and incidents on this program are fictitious and any resemblance to actual characters or incidents is purely coincidental. Be sure to listen tomorrow evening for The Big Show with Tallulah Bankhead and A Great Parade of Stars. A Sunday night feature of NBC's All-Star Festival. And until next week, same time on station, this is Jack Latham saying, good night for The Man Called X. Here, Phil Regan's new show tomorrow. Now enjoy your hit parade on NBC.